Hard work Pays off! Elliott Swigert signs with Pro Club FSV Zwickau.

Saxony, Germany. It is Official! IFX has successfully managed the transfer of Youth IFX player Elliott Swigert to FSV Zwickau, a German football club from the Third Bundesliga to play the 2017-18 season for its U19 team, who currently competes in Regionalliga Nordost (the second highest tier of the Youth German football league system). Elliott is another talented young american soccer player who is managed through our IFX Youth Year program in Germany who has made huge progress over the past 2 years to become a pro soccer player in one of the most important leagues of the world.

Elliot Swigert, a former player from Ballistic United (IFX Ballistic) in California, first embarked on his IFX Youth Year program in Barcelona, Spain two years ago, where he competed for the professional Spanish club L’Hospitalet’s U15 side. Last season he decided to continue his dream of playing soccer in Europe by choosing the IFX Youth Year program in Germany and ended up playing for one of the top U17 Youth Development Academies in Northern Germany (1. FC Frankfurt – Oder), adapting quickly to the speed and aggressive play of German Soccer. The team successfully maintained their position in the second highest league for U17s in Germany, the Regionalliga Nordost division, made up of many German professional clubs.

This Spring, IFX and a key contact organized a trial for Swigert with the professional club FSV Zwickau’s U19 squad. After some days of evaluation, Zwickau made an offer to Swigert to sign for their club for the 2017-18 season and compete with them in the Regionalliga Nordost U19 division. This is the second highest level of youth football in Germany and a league comprised of many professional clubs U19 teams including: Hansa Rostock, Rot Weiss Erfurt, Erzgebirge Aue, FC Energie Cottbus, Carl Zeiss Jena, and Hallescher FC.

His new German pro soccer club, FSV-Zwickau won promotion in 1994 to the 2. Bundesliga where they would play four seasons. The team then descended through the third division and was sent down to the Landesliga Sachsen (V) because of non sport related issues, but a successful campaign in 2005–06 earned them promotion yet again to the Oberliga. After six NOFV-Oberliga seasons, the club won the league in 2012 and earned promotion to the reformed tier four Regionalliga Nordost where it was playing as an upper table side until 2015-16 season. Zwickau was crowned as champion of Regionalliga Nordost and faced SV Elversberg, runner-up of Regionalliga Südwest at the promotion play-offs. Zwickau won the playoffs with 2-1 aggregate and returned to the third level after 16 years in 2015-16 season. FSV Zwickau plays in the Westsachsenstadion built in 1942 in Zwickau’s Schedewitz quarter with a capacity for 14,200 supporters.

Elliott’s placement with FSV Zwickau and their residential german football academy was possible thanks to many individuals including representatives from Frankfurt Oder, his family and IFX staff. It was also possible due to his extreme commitment to playing in Europe, willingness to make sacrifices in his life and his family’s undying support of his ambition to reach the professional ranks. His strong performances over the past two consecutive years while in IFX programs, his level of maturity, and also commitment and devotion to his academic studies, all contributed to warrant giving Elliott this incredible opportunity to trial with FSV Zwickau, and after his strong performance during his trials, to be able to sign with this great club.

Elliott Swigert: “I grew up playing youth soccer in Oakland, California with a few local clubs including Ballistic Academy, Mustang and Bay Oaks with hopes of one day maybe becoming a professional soccer player in Europe. For the last three seasons I have played soccer and attended school in Spain and Germany through an exchange program with the company International Football Exchange (IFX). I have learned a lot from both countries and seen many differences on the field and culturally and have really grown from these experiences as a player and a person. Playing in Spain, I learned how to play much more quickly in small space and make good quick decisions. Germany is more physical and faster with a lot more emphasis on tactics combined with great athleticism. The best teams in our league play the ball fast with speedy strong players who make good decisions and tackle hard. My soccer team has a lot of really good players and I am one of the handful of younger 2000 ‘birthyear’ players on the team. I have played at left wing and center mid and have played in all games so far starting in two. I scored a goal in our first game which was very exciting and all of my teammates mobbed me. I attend school at the International school in Reinsdorf with classes taught in a mix of German, English and Spanish and if I graduate I will receive both an International Baccalaureate as well as a German degree called Abitur.

We would like to congratulate Elliott on this accomplishment and next step in his European football career, and we from IFX wish Elliott the best of luck for this new soccer challenge. We will continue to follow this promising young talent during his new era in Germany, each time closer to the target to play pro. If you would like to play soccer in Germany yourself, please do not hesitate to contact us right away – we are happy to help you to fulfill this dream! http://www.ifxsoccer.com/german-football-academy/